Forest Watch

Heartwood's Forest Watch Program provides national leadership in challenging the privatization, commercialization, and exploitation of our nation's public lands, through education, administrative appeals, and litigation. We help people participate in the decision-making process for public lands through our widely-distributed action alerts and our easy to use website. When necessary, we defend the public interest through the courts. Just one recent example: Heartwood's successful lawsuit (upheld on appeal) stopped the Forest Service's use of Categorical Exclusions to avoid public comment and environmental review on thousands of acres of logging, mining, and other controversial Forest Service projects from Florida to Alaska. Unfortunately, with President Bush's appointment of a timber industry lobbyist to oversee the Forest Service, our national forests have taken a 20 year leap back in time. New management plans mandate increased logging, burning, oil and gas development, road-building and other damaging and exploitive activities.

Plan of Work

Heartwood volunteers will review the thousands of letters of comment received during forest planning for Heartwood region national forests. We plan to contact all respondents who favored greater protection. From these lists and our existing networks we will recruit and train additional Forest Watch volunteers, sharing information and coordinating action with state affiliate organizations in each state. Together we will identify high profile projects for coordinated regional response. Through our extended activist network and the media we will mobilize those who care about forests to contact agency decision-makers and elected officials. As always, we will pursue appropriate legislative and administrative remedies, and appeal or litigate as necessary.